Leonard Fournette will join Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay. That is the latest news from around the NFL, and the most sounding one in the last few days.
The former No.4 pick from the 2017 draft didn’t wait for too long to find a new team. And not just that, after his arrival, the crew, which was already one of the favorites for winning the Super Bowl, became arguably the biggest candidate for doing so.
The Buccaneers offered Fournette a one-year deal, worth $3.5 million with all the incentives, but what is more important, they gave the star running back a legit chance to win the Vince Lombardi trophy.
#Bucs are giving RB Leonard Fournette a 1-year deal worth a max value of $3.5M, source said. He gets a $2M base salary and incentives are based on rush yards & play-time. Plus, with no off-sets from his #Jaguars deal, Fournette can double dip if he wins his grievance & add $4.2M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 3, 2020
Jacksonville Jaguars waived the 25-year old RB this Monday, after a long search for potential partners for his trade. After realizing that nobody wanted to give anything in return, the Jags, who are entering a rebuilding process, decided the move on from their pivotal piece in the offense.
Tampa Bay had one of the worst running games in the NFL last year, with just 3.7 yards yielded per carry, and they needed a player who will change that. With Fournette, the Bucs will no doubt improve, as he is among the top five running backs in the league.
He collected more than 1,500 yards from the scrimmage during the 2019 campaign, 1,152 on the ground and 522 through the air, but had just 3 TDs. During his three seasons in Jacksonville, Fournette had 19 TDs combined (17 rushings), 2,631 yards by running, and 1,009 receiving, in 36 games, all as a starter.
Guess this post from @_fournette is confirmation…. pic.twitter.com/6X9uKxyD6U
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 3, 2020
The Jags projected him to be the franchise-face and the leader for the years to come, but in the meantime, their extremely talented team fell apart, and the whole plan simply vanished. It seems that the chemistry inside the locker room was just too poor.
Everything went downhill after the 2017 and the AFC Championship game against the Patriots, which they lost. The Jags were the absolute hit of the playoffs, especially after eliminating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round. In that game, Fournette massacred the Steelers with three touchdowns, and 109 years, helping the Jags win that one 45-42 at Heinz Field.
A week after, he met his new teammate, Tom Brady, and the Patriots. Fournette ran for 76 yards and a TD, but the Pats won 24-20. Now, he has a chance to win the Super Bowl with two guys who beat him that day.